The Dragon Parents

Prelude: The Tale

It's been twelve years since Acnologia's sacrifice, and it's a glorious day in the land: Dragon Day

Dragons fill the sky with their songs, humans throw parades and great celebrations. The streets are full of lanterns, streamers, and decorations with pictures of dragons on them. Children run down the streets with paper dragon kites in tow. Sometimes a young drake, the size of a horse will come running through the streets, human children cheering on it's back. Food stands cook all sorts of food filling the air with thousands of smells. Adult dragons, to large for the small streets, lay in parks and on the city edge, often with bits of meat, some bits raw, some charred from their firey breath. The dragons share their meals with one another while they gossip, a few humans sit among them relaying stories and laughing. Mages perform in the street, guilds open their doors and party, it's a wonderful day.

The joy spreads all over the world, Ishgar, Alvarez, all the way to Enca, Bellum, and countries beyond that. 

And why shouldn't they celebrate - it's the day when the dragons returned to the land, when the great royal bloodline emerged, and when the greatest Dragon King sacrificed himself to save the entire world. Everyone celebrates.

However, on this day, a great group of people disappears from the festivities; the rulers of Dragons. The royal bloodline does celebrate this day, but they don't do it with streamers or lanterns or carnivals. It's a remembrance day.

Far away from the towns, on a great island that's hidden in a cloud of mist, the training ground where the Dragon Kings and Queen once trained with their master, a great statue sits. It's of a glorious dragon, wings out and jaw open - as if roaring. It's a statue of Acnologia of all his fearsome majesty. The statue looks over hills of grass that sway in the wind.

Acnologia was never forgotten, and never will be.

***

The wind blew softly rustling the knee-high grass that swayed in response. The stone statue sat unmoving as the grass sang around it. The statue looked out over the peaceful green hills. And then, running up the hill, there was a head of long salmon hair.

Nashi Dragneel, a young girl of ten - almost eleven - ran up that hill, a large smile lighting up her face. Her long hair was held back in a ponytail wrapped by a blue ribbon. Her teeth had pronounced canines and her pupils were thinner then a human's should be. She wore a light red shirt over deep blue shorts and she ran barefoot with her sandals in hand.

She reached the top of the hill stopped, looked back, and then stuck her tongue out and grinned.

"BEAT YOU!" she teased.

Far below her, an eleven-year-old boy walked up the hill.

"Oh, the agony," he answered sarcastically.  He had spiked light blue hair and deep brown eyes. He too had pronounced canines and slit pupils. Lance Redfox sauntered up the hill none to quickly and smirked at the pinkette.

"It was a competition," Nashi objected.

"To you," Lance laughed. Nashi shoved him playfully.

"Meanie," she pouted.

"Naaashiiii!" someone challenged.

They all turned as a young boy with golden hair ran up to them. He was five and still had that sort of run where he wobbled a bit. His wild golden hair stuck up on his head and his large brown eyes were challenging his elder sister.